Guardians of Law and Morals

Court of Appeal judge, Lord Justice Richards (pictured), has been charged with two counts of exposing himself on trains in South-West London. Hopefully it wasn't in Fulham.

Obviously he hasn't been convicted, and his name may yet be cleared. But it is quite appalling that one of our top judges is in this situation at all. One doubts that it would have happened in Lord Denning's day. While Lord Denning did father things without his wife's involvement, they were common law principles, not illegitimate children.

But it seems that the whole senior judiciary are sex-mad these days. One well-known High Court judge is reputed to be a regular visitor to gay leather bars in Soho, while I have heard a retired Law Lord referred to as "Legover Lenny" on account of his alleged extra-marital affairs. Plus there's the recent behaviour of the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken MacDonald, both married men cheating on their wives.

As I've mentioned before, I am in the process of becoming a barrister myself. I don't therefore share the increasingly common view that all lawyers are evil. But, when it comes to the senior people in the legal profession, it does seem that an increasing number are largely devoid of moral standards. In Lord Justice Richards's case, it seems that the line into open criminality may have been crossed.